****** Realization (A Story) Poem by asma bahrainwala

A dying bird
Once confided in me.
She bemoaned her terrible fate
And told me how it came to be.

She said, “Not too far back in time,
I took my maiden flight.
I flew and flew and flew
Till I reached a great height.

I soared quite high
In the vast blue sky
And never sensed any fear
That my death would be so near.

Day by day,
My confidence grew.
I took to my wings
And flew and flew and flew.

My instinct did caution me –
That I should not be so carefree
That I should restrict my flight
That I should not cross the familiar precincts.

But a young bird I was,
Keen to discover new lands,
Ever ready to push off the limits,
And experience freedom to the fullest.

One day, I entered an exotic stretch.
My joy knew no bounds.
It was the most beautiful landscape –
A glimpse of heaven on earth, as they say.

The beauty intoxicated me.
I was in a state of ecstatic bliss.
I was so blinded by my overwhelming joy
That I failed to notice the ploy.

Beauty served as the bait.
I was at the mercy of my fate.
Lured by the promising land,
I descended a little to see it close at hand.

Suddenly, an arrow shot from the hunter’s bow
Pierced right through my heart.
I fell down with a thud,
Bleeding streams of red.”

Yes, yes I saw what transpired.
At that moment,
I was close by.
I saw the poor bird wreathing in pain.

Her last words
Still ring in my ears.
She sighed, “Alas! I realize…
I realize… I soared too high…”